The Price of a Life
by DNAngelFangirl
Summary: Dark and Daisuke are brothers, as well as Krad and Satoshi. Krad and Satoshi are homeless and one day come across Dark and Daisuke. Emiko then decides to take them in. Rate and reviews are appreciated. No ships sorry. Rated T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1: The Unheard Voice

Chapter 1: The Unheard Voice

It was noon on a Saturday in the city of Azumano. People went to local markets to do some shopping or went to parks to enjoy some family time. In the backyards of some homes, kids were playing and adults were barbequing steaks and hot dogs. One backyard had two brothers playing catch with a football.

One of the boys was fifteen years old. His purple hair was spiked and bangs partly covered his amethyst eyes. His shirt was black with pants to match and he was in possession of the football, ready to throw it at his younger brother.

The other boy was twelve with spiked red hair and rubies for eyes. His shirt was white and had red pants. He was backing up far enough to catch the football.

"Catch it, Daisuke!" the purple haired boy threw his brother the football.

The boy called Daisuke jumped and caught the football midair. "Got it, Dark!" he said as he hit the ground. He stood up and brushed dirt off of him.

"You okay, Dai?" the boy called Dark walked up to his brother. Daisuke nodded with a smile.

A sudden noise caused the boys to jump.

"What the hell was that?!" Dark asked.

"I don't know," Daisuke said.

The noise was coming from in between the house and the fence where they put their garbage cans. Dark and Daisuke investigated and gasped at what they saw. It was two boys, both looked starved. Their clothes were dirty and ripped up with blood on them. They were stuffing their pockets with any leftover food they could find.

"Hey!" Dark called out to them.

Both boys in the garbage cans looked up. One had long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail and bangs covered his yellow eyes, especially one part reaching to his waist. He looked around Dark's age The other boy had blue hair reaching down to his shoulders and cracked glasses covering his sapphire eyes. He looked around Daisuke's age.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" Dark began to walk to the boys.

"Oh, crap," the blonde said as he grabbed the other's shirt. "Let's get going!" The blue haired boy nodded as he was lifted up to the fence to climb over.

But Dark was quicker. He grabbed the blonde's arm and tossed him near Daisuke. Then he grabbed the arm of the one on the fence and pulled him off. Dark walked him over to join the blonde and Daisuke.

"Dark, don't be so harsh." Daisuke pleaded his brother.

"These two were trespassing and stealing, Dai," the purple haired boy said. "They deserve punishment."

Daisuke hated when his older brother did things like this. Dark always pretended to act like the big tough guy and was a bit rebellious. In his mind, the younger boy knew he needed to do something. So he took a deep breath.

"Mom!" he called out.

"Daisuke!" Dark growled. "You son of a-"

"What's going on out here?" a woman who looked about in her early thirties came outside. Her hair was short and she had chocolate brown eyes. When she saw the two boys with her sons, she gasped. "Dark! What did you do?"

"Nothing you should be concerned with, Emiko," Dark replied to his mother, using her first name.

Emiko glared at Dark and looked at the two boys. "Are you two hungry?"

The blonde and blue haired boy nodded at the same time. She then motioned for the boys to come in and walked to the door, Dark and Daisuke following closely behind her. But the boys wouldn't move. Emiko looked at them and smiled in a motherly way.

"It's okay," she said in a motherly tone. "We won't hurt you."

"Not unless you two do something bad," Dark muttered under his breath and Daisuke elbowed him in the stomach. Dark let out a quick pained wheeze as he glared at his younger brother.

The other boys looked at the three people in front of them, then at each other, and then back at them. They nodded and slowly walked over to the door.

Once inside, Emiko led the two boys and her sons to the kitchen. The blonde and the blue haired boy sat at the table. Dark and Daisuke sat opposite them.

"So," Emiko began, setting five glasses of water on the table. "Do you two have names?"

The blonde was the one who spoke. "Yeah. My name is Krad and this is Satoshi."

"Nice to meet you," Emiko smiled. "You can call me Emiko." then went back to making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"My name is Daisuke." the red haired boy said. "And this is Dark, my older brother." Dark scoffed silently and stared at the stairs leading to his bedroom. he was obviously not happy with the arrival of two new boys and Emiko inviting them in immediately. Daisuke kicked his shin slightly and Dark glared at him.

Emiko set the sandwiches in front of the boys and sat down at the end of the table. "Do you have a house? Or parents?"

Krad froze mid bite. Satoshi's eyes widened. They didn't have a place to call home and their parents died in a car accident. The blonde put his sandwich down and looked at the woman, a disturbed look in his eyes. "No," he simply stated. Then picked up his sandwich and took a bite. About a minute later, both Krad and Satoshi had finished their sandwiches and water.

Dark couldn't help but notice something showing through Satoshi's shirt. It looked like bandages wrapping around his chest. "Excuse me, Satoshi," he stated. "But I couldn't help but notice that thing on your chest. Do you mind if I ask what it is?"

"Dark," Emiko shot a glance at him. Dark gave her a look that said 'what?'

"It's okay," Krad interrupted. His voice sounded calm. "The bandages are from a horrible wound he got from a huge fight he was in a few years back. I think it's infected."

"Mind if I take a look?" a silver haired woman asked a roll of clean bandages in her hand. "My name's Towa."

Satoshi shook his head and shrugged off his tattered shirt. The bandage was red in the back and dirty all around. Carefully, Towa unwrapped the bandage to reveal Satoshi's wound between his shoulder blades. It was completely red, blood slowly trickling out of it. As Krad had said, it was infected and looked like a big bug had bitten it.

"Krad's right," Towa sighed. "It's infected. Big time. We need to get him to a hospital." she wrapped his wound back up, this time with a clean bandage.

"Alright," Emiko stood up. "I'll do it. Come with me, Satoshi." Silently, the blue haired boy stood up and followed the woman out of the house. Krad stood to follow, but Towa stopped him.

"Just wait here." she stated as the blonde looked up at her. "If she needs us, Emiko will call. You need to rest."

Krad. who was at a loss for words, trailed his gaze back over to the door leading to the hallway. As he heard the front door close, he knew Towa would never change her mind. As Krad sighed, he made his way to the couches. Dark, Daisuke and Towa followed suit and the purplenette turned on the news.

It was going to be a long wait.

An hour later, Emiko returned with Satoshi. Everyone was on the couch watching the news.

"So?" Dark was the first to speak.

"It was really bad," the woman led Satoshi to the couch, next to Krad. "The doctor treated it and it's fine. But he said if it ever got bad again, we need to visit the hospital again." she then looked at Krad. "Would you like to take a shower?"

Krad thought for a moment, and then sighed. "Sure. That'd be great."

"Bathroom's the second door on the right." Daisuke said as the blonde left down the hall. "Dark, could you please get Krad a change of clothes? I bet he'd fit in yours." Emiko said.

Nodding without a word, the purple haired boy went upstairs and got a white shirt with a pair of black pants. He set them down on the counter in the bathroom just before Krad got undressed. Afterwards, the purple haired boy rejoined his brother, mother, the maid, and the silent boy in the living room.

After about half an hour, Krad came back into the living room, all cleaned and refreshed. He wore the clothes Dark had put out for him and left his hair out of his ponytail, allowing it to reach down to his knees. He rejoined everyone at the couches next to Satoshi.

"Would you like to take a shower, Satoshi?" Emiko asked. The blue haired boy nodded and went to the bathroom to do so. Daisuke wasn't too far behind him with a blue shirt and a pair of jeans.

Once done, Satoshi rejoined everyone in the living room. "Hey," Towa said, smiling at him. smiled back and sat next to the blonde.

"So," Emiko looked at everyone. "How would you two like to join out family? We'd love it if you did."

Krad and Satoshi looked at each other, and then back at the woman.

"But, Emiko," Dark addressed his mother by her first name. "Don't we need to have some adoption papers or something?"

"I don't believe we do because they were homeless," Towa said, shocking everyone a bit with her use of 'were'. "They weren't in a homeless shelter or anything."

Everyone pondered the thought for a while. Especially Krad and Satoshi. They were the center of attention, after all.

"We'd be happy to have a real family again." Krad looked at the blue haired boy and smiled. "What about you?" Satoshi nodded, returning the blonde's smile.

"Then it's settled," Emiko clapped her hands. "From this point on, you two are a part of the Niwa family."

That night, Krad laid on the futon, wide awake. He and Dark had to share a room for the time being. Same as Daisuke and Satoshi. Just until the guest room was cleared out of Emiko's "art collection".

"Hey, Krad," Dark's voice startled the blonde. "You still up?"

"Yeah," the blonde said.

"I have a question. About Satoshi."

Krad tensed up and looked up at the bed. It was too high to see Dark completely. "What is it?"

"Please don't be offended. I'm just curious is all."

"Spit it out." Krad was now anxious.

"Why doesn't Satoshi talk? Is something wrong with his vocal cords?"

Krad stared at the bed. He didn't know what to say. In fact, he felt like crying. Finally, he swallowed the lump in his throat, holding back tears the best he could. "I honestly don't know," he choked out in a semi-normal voice. "It was after he was in that fight when he stopped talking. Maybe he's just scared that he'll say something that would upset somebody."

"Oh," Dark replied. It was silent before the purple haired boy spoke again. "When was the fight?"

Krad now had to fight back the urge to punch Dark right in the face. He hated talking about stuff like this. But he didn't hold back. "It was about a year after our parents' died." he began. "While we were looking for food in garbage in a bad part of Azumano, three big guys approached us, one holding a metal baseball bat. I knew they were up to no good because I could smell booze in their breath. They kept on teasing Satoshi, so I told them off. One of them hit me right across the face and left a huge bruise on my cheek. The boys just laughed and went back to Satoshi. Another boy hit his face, causing Satoshi's glasses to fall and crack on the ground. The last guy raised the bat and striked Satoshi on his back several times. When I couldn't take it anymore, I stepped in between Satoshi and the bullies. The one with the bat hit me in the side of my abdomen, knocking the wind out of me. Last thing I remembered was the strangers running off."

Dark was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Must have been horrible for you, witnessing Satoshi getting hurt. By the way, what's your relation with him? Friends? Siblings?"

Krad snapped his fingers. "Both of those. We're brothers."

"Knew it," Dark rolled over, back facing Krad. "Now get some sleep. You and your brother had a long day. Good night."

Krad rolled over, his back to Dark. "Alright. Good night, Dark."


	2. Chapter 2: Between the Dark and Light

Chapter 2: Between the Dark and Light

The next morning, Krad woke up to an empty room. Dark must have woken up earlier. He got out of bed and went downstairs, yawning and stretching along the way.

"Good morning, Krad," Towa smiled.

The blonde looked around as he took a seat on the couch next to Satoshi. Dark and Daisuke were on the couch too, watching the news. It showed an anchorwoman announcing an upcoming theft tonight by someone going by Phantom Thief Dark. Krad looked over to Dark on the couch, thinking it was him, but shook his head. He noticed Emiko was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Emiko?" he asked.

"She's out with Kosuke and Daiki getting groceries." Towa answered, bringing him plate of pancakes and some orange juice. By the look on his face, she added, "Kosuke is Emiko's husband and Daiki is her dad."

He nodded then took a bite of a pancake. About an hour later, Emiko returned. A man that looked in his thirties and with black hair like Daisuke's entered. An older man with white hair like Daisuke's entered behind the man. All of them balanced about three plastic bags of food on each arm with two paper bags in their arms.

The three put the bags on the dining table and the men looked over at Krad and Satoshi.

"Sorry for not saying hi yesterday," the younger male said. "I'm Kosuke and this is Daiki. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Krad and this is Satoshi. Nice to meet you, too." Krad said.

The men sat down and everyone chatted up a storm while the women put away the groceries. They soon joined in on the conversation. It was almost noon when Emiko stood up.

"I'm not really in the mood to cook right now," she began. "So let's go out and get something."

"Sure!" Daisuke stood up.

Dark didn't say a word, but he stood up and made his way to his room. Krad did the same while Daisuke and Satoshi went to their room.

"So," Krad began as he entered his and Dark's room. Dark had already changed into a black shirt and dark jeans.

"So what?" Dark asked a bit irritated, glaring at the blonde through purple bangs.

"Nothing," Krad sighed. "Just trying to start a conversation." He went to the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a white shirt. He put them on and looked at Dark. "Guess we shouldn't keep everyone waiting."

"What's with you?" Dark asked, crossing his arms.

"Excuse me?" the blonde asked.

"You came here for a reason." the purple haired teen stood up. "You didn't just come here because you were hungry."

"Satoshi and I were hungry. We just wanted something to eat. That's all." Krad was now getting mad. What the hell was Dark's problem anyway?

Dark walked over to the other teen. "I don't know if you're telling the truth or not," he said in a low voice. "But know this: don't get in my way or else there'll be hell to pay." With that, Dark shoved passed the blonde and left the room.

Krad stood there, silent. Dark wasn't the type of person he expected him to be at all. After a few minutes of thinking, the blonde left the room and joined everyone else.

Once Satoshi and Daisuke entered the living room, the group left, except for Daiki. The air was warm and the sky was as light as Krad's hair. Birds sang their sweet songs as the six enjoyed their walk to the local bakery for lunch.

"Hey, Miss Harada!" Daisuke called out. Krad and Satoshi looked to see two girls. One had long brunette hair and the other had short red hair, but darker than Daisuke's. The girls looked the same, twins' maybe?

"Hi, Niwa!" the long haired girl called back.

"Who are they?" Krad asked.

"Riku and Risa Harada," Emiko answered. "They're identical twins. Dai is currently dating Riku, the older one."

"Mom!" Daisuke whispered.

The girls joined the group and looked at the blond and the blue haired boy holding on to his arm.

"Who are these two?" Riku asked.

"I'm Krad and this is Satoshi," Krad said. "Nice to meet you." he held out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too!" Risa shook his hand, then Riku.

"We're headed to lunch at the bakery," Kosuke announced. "Want to join us?"

"Sure! As long as I'm with Dark, I'll be happy!" Risa went over and grabbed Dark's arm. He smiled.

"And as long as I'm with you, I'll be happy," the purple haired boy replied.

Krad scoffed inside his head. He knew Dark was a ladies' man as soon as he did that. Dark shot him an ugly look before returning his attention back to Risa. Krad, offended, mentally cussed out Dark.

"Let's get going!" Riku walked away toward the bakery and everyone followed, deep in their own conversations. Krad kept quiet, trying to not say something to upset Dark.

The bakery was nice: it was a peach colored building with windows at every wall. People were inside eating scones and croissants and drinking coffee and more. Inside was very nice. It was light brown in color with a wall filled with pastries lining a wall behind the counter. People's voices filled the air and it smelled like heaven to Krad.

"What do you want?" Emiko asked the blonde.

"I would like…" he looked at the menu. "A chocolate croissant." He turned to his brother. "What about you?" The blue haired boy pointed to a bagel with eggs and cheese on it. Krad nodded and turned to the woman. "He wants the egg and cheese bagel sandwich."

"Okay," Emiko went to the counter and ordered for everyone. Krad looked over at Dark: the teen was engaged in a deep conversation with the girl next to him. Dark looked up and saw the blonde looking at him. Krad kept on staring, trying to decipher why Dark was telling him off earlier. The purple haired boy glared at him and returned to his conversation with Risa.

Once they got their food, the group sat at a large table and ate their lunch. Krad kept looking at Dark, who, whenever he looked at Krad, glared angrily. After a bit, the blonde returned to eating his croissant. He kept thinking of what Dark said earlier.

What did he mean by 'or else'?


End file.
